


Rain

by yes_idk_what_my_name_is



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everyone will show their face, Everything is worse but also everything is better, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 09:39:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16808077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yes_idk_what_my_name_is/pseuds/yes_idk_what_my_name_is
Summary: Ruby: Accepted to Beacon 2 years early after she heroically saves an old man and his shop from a robbery, Ruby has to juggle leading her team, figuring out who the stranger with silver eyes she sees in the mirror is, and a budding friendship with the strange pink-haired girl she met on the docksBlake: An escaped experiment from a White Fang research lab, Blake is trying to come to terms with the changes in her body from their horrible experiments and the feelings stirring in her chest for her new white-haired partner.Weiss: Finally away from her Family and their controlling hand, Weiss has to deal with an annoying team leader, her equally annoying sister, their dark and handsome team member, and keeping her darkest secret hidden.Yang: While going to Beacon with her sister wasn't at the top of her bucket list, Yang hopes that following in her mother's footsteps will finally set her on the path to her destiny... even if she doesn't know what that destiny is.Four girls. Four stories. One ending.





	1. Chapter 1A - Red

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! This is my first RWBY fic and I'm glad you came to stop by. This is definitely the longest story I've ever planned out for so I hope I don't disappoint. My plan is to get out all the Prologues super fast so I can guilt trip myself into updating weekly :D

_ “It's not about overpowering an enemy. It's about taking away what power they have. And we took their power, we took their hope, we took everything from them… but it wasn’t enough.” -Cinder Fall, On The Fall of Beacon _

Drip

.

Drop

.

.

Drip

.

.

.

Drop.

The rain pounded down hard outside the shop, the warm glow of the dust inside barely denting the storm’s howling.

Ruby checked her scroll once again, making sure she hadn’t spent too much time browsing the weapons magazines. Sighing at the fact that Yang still hadn’t gotten back to her about the “little errand” she had gone on she took a second to pull on her headphones, turning her music up to try and tune out the sound of thunder outside.

Turning the page Ruby couldn’t help but wonder at the weapons displayed, meticulously noting the various specs and storing them all in her memory. While Ruby was very happy with Crescent Rose, she sometimes wondered what her life would be like if she hadn’t taken Qrow up on his offer to teach her how to use the scythe.

A hand coming down roughly on her shoulder interrupted her reverie as she was spun around to come face-to-face with a shady guy in a dark suit, his hair coifed and his sunglasses dark.

Huffing in annoyance Ruby pulled her headphones off, fully intent on calling the guy out of his rude behaviour when she realized that the dark shape in his hand was not a phone as she had previously thought.

It was a gun.

“I said,” the man muttered, his face strangely blank, “put your hands in the air. Now.”

Ruby frowned, this was not how she expected her night to go, first Yang had dropped her off at the Dust shop without an explanation and now she was being held up by tall dark and ugly.

“Are you… robbing me?” Ruby got out, hands slowly going behind her back to where she could reach Crescent Rose with ease, “or is this a new marketing campaign to reach young girls.”

The man just grunted and held the gun up higher, pointing it forcibly in her direction.

Sighing in regret Ruby dropped down to the ground, coiling her semblance around herself like a blanket, and shot her foot out. Catching the guy completely off-guard as the faster-than-humanly-possible kick sent him flying out through the window.

Throwing herself out after him Ruby safely tucked her scroll and headphones into her backpack, unhooking Crescent Rose from the side as she did so.

Looking up, she was surprised to see four similarly dressed henchmen run out after them, followed casually by a ginger-haired man in a snappy white suit, twirling his cane.

“My my my little Red,” he smirked, stabbing his cane into the ground and leaning on it, “that wasn’t very nice coming from a young girl like you.”

Ruby scoffed and extended Crescent Rose, taking pleasure in the way the men’s eyes glided over the scythe’s blade and stepped into one of the combat stances Qrow had taught her.

“And if wasn’t very nice of you to rob this poor dust shop, especially now that I have to stop you.”

“Little Red has a temper? How funny,” Dropping the smile the Man in the White Suit motioned to the men standing beside him, “Why don’t you four teach this little girl to… respect her elders.”

The four men shrugged and moved forward, obviously thinking her large weapon was just for show.

Tensing her legs Ruby fired her weapon into the ground, sending her flying into the sky. Twisting into herself, Ruby fired into the air sending herself careening into the four men with a spin.

Making sure not to actively cut off anyone’s limbs was a challenge, but Ruby really didn’t want manslaughter to be her first prison sentence.

Focusing on the four men, Ruby didn’t see the glowing red vial of dust until it was too late.

One explosion later and Ruby was on her back in front of the Dust shop, shaking her head to try and clear it. Slowly standing up Ruby counted one… two… three of the henchmen knocked out around her.

“Three henchmen?” Ruby asked out loud, a question on the tip of her tongue, “but weren’t there four...?” 

Finally registering a warm liquid pooling around her fingers Ruby looked down… right into the chest cavity of the fourth henchman, who had obviously taken the brunt of the explosion.

While Ruby had seen plenty of corpses before, no stranger to video games she was, seeing one in real life was jarring. Jarring enough that Ruby couldn’t contain her stomach. 

As Ruby emptied her stomach to the side, the shop owner rushed outside and pointed up.

“The leader is getting away!” he shouted, getting Ruby’s attention.

Sure enough, Ruby looked up to see the lapels of a white suit disappear over a rooftop.

Stumbling to her feet the red-haired girl took a couple of tentative steps to make sure she was able to walk and then grabbed Crescent Rose from where she had fallen, making sure to keep her eyes away from the corpse of the fourth henchman.

Not bothering to climb the ladder Ruby launched herself up the side of the building with Crescent Rose, tucking into a roll as she landed.

Standing up Ruby barely registered the man standing a few feet away, her attention mostly on dodging the bullet that was fired at her the second her feet touched the rooftop.

“Don’t little girls know when to quit?” The man growled out, moving his cane… gun… thing… so that it pointed at Ruby again, “Just my luck that the last Dust shop we would visit would be the most difficult.”

“Give up you creep,” Ruby shouted, her voice slightly winded from the previous fight and resultant explosion, “I have you cornered and the police are likely already on their way!”

Torchwick laughed, firing another shot at the young girl, who dived out of the way and returned fire with her sniper, “the name is Roman Torchwick girl, and who said I was cornered?”

Ruby’s eyes widened as a Bullhead rose up behind him, close enough for Torchwick to jump onboard.

Seeing the gunship turn and point its cannons her way Ruby wrapped her cloak around herself, hoping the strong material would be able to withstand the bullet rounds.

Closing her eyes as the bullets raced towards her, Ruby was surprised by the sound of them hitting something solid.

Chancing a look upwards, Ruby was greeted by the site of a woman in a purple cloak using a riding crop to stop the bullets. 

In a flash, the woman waved her crop and sent the bullets careening back towards the ship, where they impacted with a metal thud sending the whole metal vehicle tilting wildly as it struggled to remain airborne. 

Ruby opened her mouth to thank the new arrival as the side door to the ship opened as well. Expecting to see Torchwick, Ruby was surprised by the appearance of a woman in a dark dress, her glowing orange eyes the only part of her face visible in the darkness of the hold.

Holding her hand out the woman sent a blast of flame towards the purple-cloaked warrior, who simply directed it into the ground before tearing the now molten slag off the rooftop and sending it careening towards the Bullhead.

With a swift downwards chop of her hand, the orange-eyed villain swirled the magma around the ship before sending it back towards the pair on the rooftop.

Shielding her face, Ruby’s hero (who she now noted had striking pretty blonde hair), slashed up, causing the magma to split and go around the pair.

When they both finally looked up after the attack the gunship had vanished.

  
  
  


To say that Taiyang was tired with his youngest daughter would be an understatement. Not only did he have to drive into the city following a harried call about how Ruby had “been disrupting the peace” and how she had “gotten into a fight with a known villain and 5 henchmen”.

Sighing, Taiyang rubbed his head and tried to get his words straight.

“So what you’re telling me,” he started, wishing Qrow and his flask were here right now, “is that my daughter stopped a robbery and held her own against a group of villains, and that because of this you want her to skip her last two years at Signal to come and study at Beacon?”

The silver-haired man sitting across from him nodded, taking a sip from his ever-present cup of coffee.

“That is exactly what I’m saying Taiyang, you know better than anyone that with Qrow’s training Ruby has nothing to worry about her at Beacon, not to mention that we are the only ones… versed… in the powers that she will eventually grow into.”

Taiyang growled at Ozpin’s last words, his right hand slowly curling into a fist.

“The ‘powers that she will eventually grow into’ as you so elegantly put it are a curse, not something to be trained willy-nilly. If you think that I’m just going to let you throw my little girl into your little war…”

Ozpin slammed his cup down, the liquid inside sloshing from side to side. Taiyang recoiled, surprised that his former teacher would show so much emotion.

“I am not going to throw your daughter into danger Taiyang, and it hurts that you think I don’t have Summer in my thoughts as well.” Moving so that he could put a hand on Taiyang’s shoulder, Ozpin stared into his eyes, “please trust me on this Taiyang, Ruby will be safe at Beacon.”

Suddenly feeling extremely tired, Taiyang slumped, his eyes moving away from Ozpin’s to stare at the floor.

“If you promise… alright.” Taiyang looked back up, squaring his shoulders, “Ruby can transfer to Beacon with the new class.”


	2. Chapter 1B - Black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We saw Ruby last chapter and now for the best catgirl this side of anime... BLAKE

_ “Project Naturae is a failure, Subject #001 has broken containment and escaped. Use extreme caution as the subject has been exposed to the Serum. If you find it bring it back to me, I will deal with it.” -Adam Taurus, Containment Breach of Research Lab 1 _

Its ears poked up, the appendages swivelling to try and pick up any sounds that might be heard in the forest.

When nothing stirred it instead took a deep breath, scenting the air for anything unnatural. This test too indicated nothing was wrong with the surrounding area.

Yawning deeply the creature stretched out, its claws marking deep into the tree it lay on with barely a thought. Laying down, it started grooming trying to settle down and get comfortable to finally sleep after many days on the run.

Suddenly a rustle in the distance caused the creature to open its eyes, tail lazily flicking back and forth as it tried to determine if the new disturbance was predator or prey.

When the scent of metal and gunpowder reached its nose, it couldn’t help the shiver of excitement course through its body.

_ Prey it is. _

Cautiously slinking through the tree branches towards the sound it came upon the perpetrators.

Three Faunus stood there, white masks in stark contrast to the black of their uniforms. Laying down once again it found it easy to pick up on the conversation happening below it.

“--re you sure it came through here? This part of the forest is supposedly filled to the brim with Grimm.” Faunus #1 said, grunting as they pushed aside some undergrowth, shooting fleeting looks into the darkening forest around them.

“Yes I’m sure,” Faunus #2 returned, their eyes on the ground searching for tracks, “I’m sure I saw Subject #001 on the cameras.”

“Well I sure as shit don’t see any sign of Subject #001, are we sure its even real?” The third member stated, their voice deep enough that The Creature knew they were male, “I mean, Branch Leader Adam has been known to be slightly absurd, and with how he’s been acting since the containment breach--”

“Shut up!” Faunus #1 whispered harshly, their gun trained on a spot in the surrounding underbrush, “I just saw something”

“Oh yeah?” Faunus #2 snarked, their lips curling into a cruel smile, “what was it? A bunny?”

Faunus #3 laughed while Faunus #1 swung their gun around, fangs bared, “I’m gonna go check it out, don’t be stupid.”

The Creature smiled, it's tail stilling as it slowly lowered itself down from the tree branches, hiding in the underbrush.

Slinking around the clearing, the Creature made sure to stay out of sight until it was directly behind Faunus #1. Smiling to itself it reached over and tapped them on the shoulder.

“I thought I told you to hreugh--” The Faunus sputtered, as the Creature sank its fangs into their neck. Biting down with force the Creature covered the Faunus’ mouth, making sure they couldn’t scream for help.

With a sharp jerk of its head, the beast heard a satisfying crack come from the Faunus. Dropping them it reached over and picked up the dead Faunus’ helmet.

“Guys I think I found something,” the beast spoke into the microphone, a perfect imitation of the dead Faunus’ voice, “can one of you come and help me?”

“I’ll be right there Green,” it heard Faunus #3 reply. Smirking it dropped the helmet and stalked into the underbrush, its dark hair blending in with the shadows.

Orange eyes raked across the surrounding forest before falling on the approaching form of Faunus #3. Licking the blood from its lips the creature got to work.

  
  


When Ochre Tallow’s brother was murdered by a group of human teens in Atlas she hadn’t taken it well. 

Never having put much stock into the Deity Brothers as her brother had, Ochre found herself falling into the kind of groups that mothers warned their children about.

However, try as she might she couldn’t lose herself in the underbelly of drugs and crime that thrived underneath the cities of Mistral.

It was in this circle of hell that she found the White Fang. 

Finally, there was a group of people that hated humans as much as she did. Finally, she had a place where she could make a  _ difference.  _ And so she joined up.

And Ochre  _ thrived _ . Every time she went out on a mission for Branch Leader Adam she would come back covered in blood and smiling. Humans were terrified and finally understood what they had taken from her.

When Adam had asked her if she would accept the guard post at the Mistralian Research Lab she had hesitated, but ultimately accepted. It was a cushy position that paid well for very little work.

Sure, they would get the occasional adventurous hiker, but Ochre would take care of them.

She got VERY good at making the deaths look like maulings.

Everything was going great until the breach in containment a week ago. Now the base was in an uproar, their prized test subject escaped into the wild and the lab burned to the ground.

As Ochre watched Max walk into the surrounding woods to help Green, she felt a shiver run down her spine. She felt like something was… watching her.

Spinning around, Ochre shined her flashlight into the undergrowth surrounding their little clearing.

Tapping on her mic she opened up the channel to Green.

“Green? How are you guys doing? Is everything alright?”

…

Silence greeted her, not even the static of someone breathing.

Ochre was suddenly very, very scared.

A rustle from the other side of the clearing sent her heart racing. She snapped her rifle to attention, the stock quaking.

“Who… Whose there?” She demanded, her voice wavering slightly in the night air, “Is that you Green?”

Ochre let out a sigh and shouldered her rifle as Green stumbled into the clearing.

“Dear Oum you scared me Green… Green?”

Ochre watched Green stumble a little closer before pitching forward, falling to the beam of her flashlight just enough to highlight how the entire back of his throat had been ripped out.

“What the dust?” Ochre fumbled for her rifle before her attention turned back to the other side of the clearing.

Subject #001 stood there.

Ochre couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even move as the creature slunk towards her. Its eyes glowing in the unnatural light from her flashlight.

Suddenly, Ochre’s mind flew back to the first thing her brother had ever taught her when he had joined the Monastery.

Bringing her hands together, Ochre began to pray. 

Not to either of the Deity Brothers, not to any god or goddess in particular, but praying to anyone listening.

The Creature stopped just short of her, moving to stand on its hind legs it reached a sharply clawed finger out to gently touch the Circular Pendant that lay over her heart, the one that had been clutched in her brother’s hands when she had found him in the alley.

Through tear-stained eyes, she watched the Creature tug it off her neck in a sharp jank, the chain snapping.

It held it up so that the light glanced off the pendant, sparkling like a disco ball.

“Please don’t kill me,” Ochre begged her voice barely a whisper, hoping desperately that her fear wasn’t as plain as it seemed.

The dark-haired creature turned back to her, its cat-like eyes resting oh hers.

It opened its mouth and Ochre trembled at the scent of death and decay that washed over her.

“No… kill…” the Creature hissed, its mouth unused to the feeling of talking, “send… message…”

Ochre lit up, it wasn’t going to kill her? “Message? I can give a message to whoever you want, just tell me what you want me to say.”

Its mouth snapped shut, a cruel smile overtaking its features.

“Wrong… message…”

Ochre didn’t even get the chance to scream as the claws raked her throat open.

  
  


Blake gasped as she woke up, her eyes troubling to adjust to her new surroundings. The sun shone brightly through the entrance and Blake had to shield her eyes against the glare.

Stretching she took a look around the cave where she found herself and shied back, a horrified look on her face.

The walls were red with blood. It caked the entirety of the cave and it took all her strength not to lose her stomach.

Looking closer, the blood slowly starts to move into words. Squinting her eyes she manages to figure out what it says.

_ From Shadows, I rise _

_ You cannot escape our fate _

_ Beauty and her BEAST _

Blake fell back onto the ground, scraping her hand against the sharp edges of the rocks beneath her.

**Already hurting yourself Blake? That can’t be good.**

Blake let out a scream, scrambling for a weapon, her fingers finding a particularly sharp rock. Twisting around she aimed it at where the voice had come from but was met with nothing but empty air, the mouth of the cave still slowly filtering in light.

**There isn’t anyone else here Blake… well except for me.**

At the voice’s wicked cackle Blake finally found it in herself to speak.

“W-who are you? Where are you hiding.” She spat, shaking her head, “I know you’re here, don’t try and stay hidden.”

**Don’t kid yourself, Blake, you know** **_exactly_ ** **who I am.** ****  
**  
** Blake dropped her makeshift weapon and clutched at her head, feeling like someone was stabbing her skull with knives.

Dropping to her knees Blake couldn’t help but let out a scream as images of the past few days filled her mind.

_ She saw herself lying on the cold floor of a lab room, Faunus scientists standing above her _

_ She saw herself struggling against bonds as they injected her again and again, taking notes on her screams _

_ She saw herself curl up into a ball in her cell, waiting for the moment to strike _

_ She felt the skin break under her claws as she ripped the guard who walked in in half _

_ She saw herself destroy equipment, murder scientists _

_ Saw the cold animal intelligence in her eyes as she grabbed the only remaining vial in the lab _

_ Saw herself stalk into the night, shadows blending themselves into her form to draw off the guards that were after her _

_ Saw herself holding up the Cross of  _

“No! Stop showing me these!” Blake screamed, clawing herself out of the memories.

**That was US Blake, you and I can do so much together…**

“That was horrifying…” Blake whispered, but the more she tried to focus on the memories she had just been shown, the more they slipped from her grasp. Only the cold hard fear she had felt while viewing them remained.

**Horrifying? Yes. Justice? Even more so.**

“How was that justice?” Blake asked, rising once more to her feet, determined to stay upright this time, “justice is saving the people we care about, standing up to bullies and monsters. What you did was… terrible.”

Blake shook her head, the voice laughing again.

**Terrible it may have been, it is the reason I am here now.**

“And what reason is that? Some kind of Black Fang trick? Or have I finally gone crazy you… beast” Blake crossed her arms, distrust of this new voice winning out over her dizziness.

**I am** ** _protecting_** **you, Blake, keeping all the terrible things they did to you in that facility under wraps so you don’t go insane and for that, your mind decided it needed a… helper… and so here I am.**

“Then what… what should I call you? Blake 2? Murderous-voice-in-my-head?”

**I think I prefer the name… Beast, fits does it not?**

Blake rolled her eyes at the voice’s theatrics but acknowledged the name nonetheless. Taking her first step outside the cave she hissed, the light blinding her.

“I don’t remember the light hurting so much before… before what happened, any insight Beast?”

**Yes well, what happened to you was complicated so you can expect many things to be… different. Better sight, increased senses, and all of that cheer. Also your semblance might feel… funny.**

“Funny?” Blake questioned, trying to summon one of her shadow clones. She gasped when shadows raced out of the surrounding trees to circle around her before twisting into a perfect copy.

**Funny.** ****  
**  
** Blake reached out a hand and touched the shadow clone, surprised at how it held up under her touch. Closing her eyes and slowing her breath Blake tried to bring the shadows that had created the clone back to herself. Tight-lipped Blake tried to scream when she felt cool tendrils slip across her body.

Opening her eyes Blake narrowed her eyes. The shadows had coated her completely, making her blend into the shadows cast from the forest canopy.

“So… what now?” Blake questioned, hoping Beast would have an answer for her.

**And now we accomplish what you’ve wanted to do since Mother and Father retired… We become a Huntress.**   
  
Throwing her head back, Blake ignored the feral smile Beast had and thought about what it had said.

_ A Huntress. _

_Blake Belladonna, daughter of…_ **Blake Belladonna, Huntress.**

The Beast’s addition caused Blake to shiver. Opening her eyes she looked up at the stars.

“We’re in Vale, that means Beacon is the local Academy,” Blake mentioned, eyes reading the stars as she tried to pinpoint their location, “And since the moon is full tonight we should have a couple weeks before they start the entrance exam.”

Blake stretched her legs to get ready for the long walk to Vale, and the Hunstman Academy stationed there when she felt something clink against her leg. Bending down she found a small vial of dark liquid attached to her leg by a hastily done knot. Untying the knot, Blake held the vial up to the light.

Examining the liquid didn’t do Blake much good, except to note that it seemed to shy away from the light, almost with a mind of its own.

**Be careful with that, you really don’t want to break it.** ****  
**  
** “Why?” Blake asked, binding the vial back to her leg, “Is it important?”

**Its… yes, you could say that. I just have the feeling that** **_we_ ** **will need it in the future.**

Nodding at the answer, Blake set off on her way, the voice in her head narrating the long journey ahead of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blake will be fine. Maybe. Thanks for stopping by I hope you stay paws-itive today and all days :3c

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope your day is meow-velous :3c


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